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From: Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: College advisors?
Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2024 12:08:17 -0700
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On 6/2/2024 11:30 AM, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
> On 6/2/24 14:35, Don Y wrote:
>> Are there advisors in schools, nowadays, to provide guidance
>> for kids?
>>
>> In the past several weeks, I've spoken to a lot of kids "just
>> graduating" or "in a year or so".  Many complain about a BAD
>> job market.
>>
>> But, when I drill down into their qualifications, most have
>> taken "impractical" majors:  english lit, psychology, history,
>> art, etc.
>>
>> Didn't anyone advise them as to the marketability of these
>> educations before they invested 4 years of their time/money?
>>
>> "And, where did you THINK you were going to work?  Do you
>> LOVE kids -- cuz you're likely only qualified to be a teacher..."
> 
> Is that new? I don't think so.

I don't know.  My personal experience left me with no choices OTHER
than STEM (engineering school).

OTOH, I can recall advising an undergrad before he had to declare
his "major".  He had thought "Computer Science cuz I think I can
make a lot of money, there"  "But, do you LIKE that field?"  "Well,
no..."  "There's an awful lot of years for you to spend NOT liking
something and reliant on it for an income!"

Likewise, a friend approached me, dismayed, as his kid was about
to enroll in a psychology program:  "How the hell is he going to
find work, there?"  After a brief chat, he ended up going into
an engineering program (that he really wasn't too excited about)
and, once there (after graduation) moving into a succesful
engineering MANAGEMENT position.  Hard to see how a psych degree
would have opened those doors...

> Graduating in some light-weight
> subject has always been perceived as an easy way to get a degree.
> STEM degrees are "too hard". And then they find that no one needs
> such graduates.

But there are degree options that don't fall into the basket-weaving
vs. STEM categories.  E.g., a CPA is in relatively high demand and
pay.  The Law?  (ick)

> That said, I've had people tell me that mathematics degrees are
> only good to get you a teacher's job. Unsurprisingly, those same
> people had no idea what mathematics is all about.

What I wonder is the extent that kids *are* counseled and how
effective that counseling can be -- in light of the school
likely offering those "light weight" programs/majors.

Head of Psych department:  "How come you are denigrating MY field?"
Counselor:  "How many of YOUR graduates are now working IN that field?"